Review

Review Summary: "It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum....and I'm all out of gum"

Ah yes, Duke Nukem that one bad guy from the Saturday morning cartoon Captain Planet....I'm just pulling your leg, we all know it's about that big manly BALLSy guy who can rip alien monsters heads off and defecate down their breathing holes. Also known for his video games series that reign supreme throughout the 90's that combined bad-ass quotes, reckless violence, blood and gore, and of course the babes. With all of this he actually gathered enough fame to make a soundtrack, with pleasurable results.

The album is split in 2 personalities, the heavy metal/nu-metal side and the hip-hop side. Both of course work well in the game as anything that sounds remotely good can sound cool when blowing up an alien monster to Duke's voice growling “COME GET SOME!”. On their own though, the producers for the most part managed to pick pretty sweet songs from the up and coming artists of 1999. The thrash giants Slayer and MegaDeth both contribute their piece, as well as hip-hop legends Wu-Tang-Clan. However with all of this fast, aggressive, forms of both metal and hip-hop with Duke Nukems “makin bacon!” policies you would think this would be the absolute perfect soundtrack. There are some bumps in “Scoring Paradise”.

First up is the well known instrumental theme of the big guy himself Duke Nukem, performed by MegaDeth. The song sounds about as it should, the instrumental of Duke Nukem thrown in the Dave Mustaine blender. Also featured by MegaDeth is their well-known “New World Order” which is a nice piece of thrash to compliment the breakneck style in the game. Also in this is Slayer and their song “Screaming from the Sky”, however this was from their controversial album Diabolus in Musica (which many claimed was their “nu-metal” album) so it features a different style then we're used to hearing. Of course there's also the techno-tinged “Cinnamon Girl” remix originally done by Type O Negative which actually sounds “sexy” and fits the title. And then there are the two exclusive tracks “Blisters” by Coal Chamber, and “The Thing I Hate” by Stabbing Westward both fail in my opinion as they manage to sound like filler tracks on their both of their debut albums respectively. The hip-hop side is also alive and present however Xzibit's “What U See is What U Get” is a song I always find myself skipping or wishing soon to end. Wu-Tang-Clan's contribute “It's Yourz” is sweet, catchy, and possibly my favorite track.

Everything said and done the age of Duke is long gone, but we are left with his memorable quotes, his “kick ass and kick more ass” policies that have inspired millions, and this soundtrack. This being the weakest still manages to pump out a few solid tracks. So remember kids until next time, kick some ass and chew your bubblegum.